I've finished putting up some photos of my recent trip to Ireland for your perusal and, perhaps, pleasure.

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I have included photos from Cape Clear Island, Inisheer and Inishmore in the Aran Islands, and Derry and Belfast in Northern Ireland. Hope you enjoy them!

The first time I visited Belfast in February 1997 it was cold, dark, and raining. When I arrived at the hostel, Arnie's Backpackers, I was welcomed with a hot drink and a fire in the fireplace and made to feel at home. I spent a few days there and, besides wandering around Belfast, I went on the 'Troubles Tour' in a Black Taxi, which gave quite an interesting perspective on the Northern Ireland problem. In wandering around the city, I encountered many military patrols, on foot and in armoured cars, with weapons at the ready. These made me feel a little uneasy, but I felt safe - in an authoritarian sort of way. When I arrived in Belfast this time, seven years later, I thought I'd take a look around to see how things had changed.

Given that the last two times I came to Ireland I visited the island of Inishmore [Inish Mór], I felt compelled to make it out there on this trip as well. I really enjoy going out to the smaller islands because it's a completely different experience from the cities and towns. Staying on the islands for a few days gives me an opportunity to meet some of the locals and learn more about the area. Island life is usually very different from that of the mainland - slower, more rugged, and the communities are tighter-knit. The isolation and weather have a great impact on the way of life, and for some reason this appeals to me.

After clearing my head on Cape Clear, I decided to head up to County Clare, where I hadn't really spent any time on my past trips. I had to take the bus through Cork, Limerick, and Ennis to get to Kilrush. I picked Kilrush because it looked like the biggest town in the south of Clare and I wanted to work my way up the coast to Doolin.

After a couple of nights out in Baltimore, I needed to clear my head, so I figured a couple of days wandering around a sparsely populated island was called for. For some reason I seem to gravitate towards islands - Cape Clear and Inishmore in Ireland and Skye and Lewis & Harris in Scotland, for example.

While at Dzogchen Beara, I arranged a ride with Sean, another guest, to Skibbereen, but his car broke down and I ended up in Dunmanway. I really wanted to be on the coast, so I stayed the night in Dunmanway, and then hitched to Skibbereen.

I've only been in Ireland for about a week and a half, but it seems like a month. That seems to happen to me a lot at the beginning of trips.

After a great weekend in London to celebrate Allison's birthday, I flew into the small airport in Kerry and got a taxi into Killarney. Unfortunately, there was a rally car race going on and Killarney was completely booked out...